A Rainbow of Mother's Day Tech Gift Ideas

I know I'm not alone when I say picking a gift for mom, especially a tech gift, is equally about fashion as function. More specifically, the color of the device can make or break the possibility of the "oh wow" factor when my mom opens a gift, as she has a magpie's affinity for brightly colored objects. With Mother's Day on the horizon I thought it could be fun to gather up a wide assortment of the most colorful of tech designs for mom, grandmother, sister...or even the fellas who know color is nothing to shy away from.

The Nokia Lumia 900: darling of this year's CES show, Nokia's flagship Windows Phone handset is currently available in black and white for a really nice price of $99.99. But it's the matte cyan model I noticed garnered the most "oooh, which phone is that?" responses while walking about, a bright burst of blue where other Android, iOS and Windows Phone devices are limited to the usual me-too black, white and grey finishes. In fact, the cyan model is so popular, it's currently out of stock!

Native Union Unlimited POP Phone: available in 8 different colors and inspired by the classic 1950's Bakelite telephone handset, the POP phone works with just about any smartphone, alongside with Skype, Google Talk and other VOIP solutions. But the real appeal is David Turpin's retro design (my own girlfriend begged for one for ages until I finally got her a blue one, which she loves). A new Unlimited line with neon colors ($39.99) is available at Kitson in Los Angeles for additional color options.

BIG JAMBOX by Jawbone: Announced today, the super sized Bluetooth wireless speaker solution is arguably the best looking portable speaker on the market today (I like it because it looks like a huge LEGO piece). Whether red, black or white, the portable stainless steel speaker should make a great impression on both eyes and ears, and works double duty for the home office and for on-the-go weekend use.

Incase 6" Sync and Charge Cable: you probably don't want to make these colorful cables the only gift for a Mother's Day gift package, but they'd be an excellent complementary accessory if you're gifting dear ole mom a new iPad, iPhone, or iPod. Available in 5 colors, the 6" 30-pin ports cable adds a splash of fashionable color for syncing duties.

Pablo Designs Pixo Lamp: design-conscious LED task lighting can get expensive. But not only is the Pablo Pixo Lamp super cute, it offers an integrated USB charging port at the base, and it's a very reasonable $190. Although only available in white, silver, or graphite (would love this in yellow), the energy-efficient LEDs cast a very warm and welcome light wherever you direct it towards.

Nikon 1 J1 Digital Camera: I recently decided to ditch my full-size Nikon DSLR this time around during a press trip to Milan for this smaller size interchangeable lens camera, and was I ever grateful after miles of walking convention halls and city streets with the J1 instead of my usual D7000. I was also often stopped on the streets and asked about the camera, the all-white design meeting the approval of the European design set. The J1 proved to be a very capable, and fashionable, travel camera with a versatile multi-purpose 10-30mm lens that has made me believe these in-between smaller format, smaller form factor interchangeable cameras can be a valid replacement for 90% of user's needs. Plus, the super slow motion video capture feature is uh-mazing fun to play around with, even when you totally screw up.

West Elm Colored Stripe Lacquer Boxes: If you know mom isn't a real tech-type, no worries...help her get her home office in order with a decor-friendly decorative/storage item like these lacquer boxes. Tell her she can store away all those ugly USB cables inside one these lovely little boxes and keep it on her desk.

Geneva Sound System Model S: I own and love the Geneva Sound System Model M, the bigger sibling to the Model S, so I'm going to assume the smaller model is similarly sonically satisfying (in fact, Joel rated the S a strong recommend). Whether mounted onto the pedestal or without, the all white model disappears into decor, while the all red punctuates itself as a focal point.

Poppin 15" Khaki Laptop Bag: super cute, super affordable and available in an assortment of colors, these padded laptop totes are functional fashion for just $19. You know that means you can purchase one of every color for her to match any outfit.

Pie Graph Sticky Notes: another accessory item you'll want to combine with one of the more significant items above. But if your mom is the note writing type like mine is, she'll likely love these fun formatted circular sticky notes. So throw a couple into the Poppin bag above, alongside a few of those colorful USB cables, and you've got a fun and colorful home office gift pack on the cheap.